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Valley Motors donates $10K to Erika Brannock

A car dealership isn't generally a place you find lots of people crying.

The tears flowed Thursday at Valley Motors on York Road, which reached out to give a gigantic hug to Boston Marathon bombing survivor Erika Brannock of Baltimore County.

"I get choked up anytime anyone does something special like this for me because it just touches my heart so much that the community would come out in a big way and do something for me," Brannock said.

What Charlie Fenwick and his team at Valley Motors and Subaru did was decide to do something.

"How could we participate? How could we make a difference here?" Fenwick said.

The dealership made a $10,000 difference by doing what they do best -- selling cars toward a donation to The Erika Brannock Fund.

The 29-year-old schoolteacher was critically injured in the bombings at the marathon finish line three months ago. She said the money will go toward health care and prosthetics because not everything is covered by insurance.

Brannock said she's trying to adapt her life to the new changes. The big check came in the middle of a week full of milestones.

"On Tuesday, during physical therapy, I stood up for the first time, which was really emotional and incredible at the same time," Brannock said.

On Wednesday, Brannock had a chance to go back and read to her class from last year.

"I get a lot of strength and energy from them to keep going, and they're my heart. They really are," Brannock said.

As a teacher, she keeps it up -- even outside the classroom.

"She's just taught me how strong she is. It's just a strength I didn't see in her before," said Brannock's mother, Carol Downing.

Through all of this, Brannock is also finishing up a graduate degree. She returns to teaching at the end of August -- student teaching for a year -- plus a part-time job.

"You have to really appreciate the small things and appreciate every day you have with people," Brannock said.

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